What do you have for us, Matt Leinart? Next man up for Texans

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Matt Leinart came to the Texans to resurrect his career. Things ended badly in Arizona, with some believing Leinart had neither the work ethic nor talent to play in the NFL. For these two seasons, he has had the advantage of learning the game and the position from Gary Kubiak and of watching how Matt Schaub goes about his business.

Schaub changed the locker room at Reliant Stadium the moment he walked in the door. It’s hard to imagine any NFL quarterback working harder or being more prepared. He’s a professional in every way you can define the word. He’s among the first to arrive and last to leave. He understands that the vast majority of his job description is drudgery, that is, studying video, familiarizing himself with game plans etc.

Is it Matt Leinhart’s time to shine? (Brett Coomer/Chron)

Schaub had been with the Texans only a couple of weeks when Kubiak left the facility one afternoon and noticed a group of players gathered around the quarterback’s vehicle. They were laughing and cutting up, and at that very moment, Kubiak was convinced he’d gotten the right guy.

Playing quarterback isn’t just about making the right throws. It’s about being the face of the franchise and being the toughest guy and the most prepared guy and a dozen other things. Agent Leigh Steinberg once said that quarterback was the most unique position in professional sports because it was part management, part coach, part player, part ambassador.

Schaub has done his job very, very well these five seasons. When the game was on his shoulder in the fourth quarter, he almost always put them in position to succeed. To say he will be missed is a vast underestimate. He’s the lone player the Texans probably couldn’t lose, so we’re going to find out about the NFL’s next man up theory.

The Packers absorbed a numbing amount of injuries last season, but Aaron Rogers went the distance. Had he have gotten hurt, all those other injuries would have looked almost insignificant.

Now Schaub is gone for a few weeks, if not for the season, and the Texans are counting on Matt Leinart. We don’t know what he’s capable of. We just don’t. Everyone has an opinion, but they’re based on nothing.

I watched him interact with his coaches and players at USC before the national championship game against Texas, and it was clear that Pete Carroll trusted him in a way coaches don’t usually trust players.

He made so many big throws at USC and won so many big games, it would be silly to say he was incapable of winning in the NFL. He doesn’t have a huge arm, but it’s huge enough. He also carries himself the way a quarterback should.

Leinart is stepping into a very nice situation. The Texans have the NFL’s No. 1 defense and its No. 3 running game. They’ve got some swagger, too, from being tied with the Steelers for the AFC’s best record. You can knock the schedule as weak all you want, but when a team wins and wins, it starts to believe it’s always going to win and to play with a speed and confidence that losing teams don’t have.

Kubiak never figured Leinart would be back for a second season with the Texans. He thought he’d gotten his career jump-started and that some team would give him a chance to start. It may end up being a lucky break that Leinart didn’t get that opportunity. These next few weeks are huge for the Texans, but they’re a chance for Matt Leinart to make a name for himself in the NFL.